CD-Charts Position 1
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Puccini: Turandot

from: Decca

Release Date February 07, 1985
Read all the other reviews for soloist analysis etc. What I wish to add is do not be put off by the age of this recording. This was recorded by Decca in their glory days.The dynamic range, frequency range, soundstaging, capture of the hall sound, can (and does) put many a modern recording to shame. The breathing sounds and creaking stage boards only cement the performance. If you want to know how good your system is, can you hear the tube trains passing underneath and the birds outside.

For many including myself this is and will always be a definitive/landmark recording/performance.

CD-Charts Position 2
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Puccini: Suor Angelica

from: Classics

Release Date November 02, 1996
Having never been a great fan of Puccini, I was amazed at the intensity and emotion that the music on this CD was able to convey.

The opera begins quietly with Suor Angelica and the the other nuns in the convent, building steadily through the confrontation with her aunt, sung superbly by Marjana Lipovsek, to the dramatic, highly charged emotional climax of Suor Angelica's supplications to the Virgin Mother.

My primary reason for buying this CD was Lucia Popp, and as Suor Angelica, she does not disappoint. Her vocals provide the lead character with the necessary sense of emotional vulnerability and desperation, which is so often found lacking in other recordings. Her desperate supplications to Mary in the final scene cannot fail ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 3
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A Room With A View (Special Edition) [1985]

starring: Maggie Smith, Helena Bonham Carter, Rupert Graves, Daniel Day Lewis, Judi Dench
directed by: James Ivory

Release Date October 29, 2007
This is my favourite adaptation of a Forster novel and it has thankfully been re-released as a proper widescreen version which fills the full screen of my TV. (The original DVD was a failed experiment in adaptation resulting in a shrunken picture in which very little was visible whatever TV shape you were using). Despite being rooted in the uptight Edwardian social rectitude of 1908, the novel still has plenty to say about the present day. At the time Edward Morgan Forster was firmly cowering at the back of the closet and channelling his hidden homosexuality into a critique of his time. People behave as they think they should behave. They repress their wonderful true nature in order to conform to stereotypes and thereby diminish their own existence. ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 4
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O mio babbino caro: Famous Soprano Arias from Italian Opera

by: Various Composers

Release Date October 22, 2001
This is my favourite adaptation of a Forster novel and it has thankfully been re-released as a proper widescreen version which fills the full screen of my TV. (The original DVD was a failed experiment in adaptation resulting in a shrunken picture in which very little was visible whatever TV shape you were using). Despite being rooted in the uptight Edwardian social rectitude of 1908, the novel still has plenty to say about the present day. At the time Edward Morgan Forster was firmly cowering at the back of the closet and channelling his hidden homosexuality into a critique of his time. People behave as they think they should behave. They repress their wonderful true nature in order to conform to stereotypes and thereby diminish their own existence. ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 5
Average Rating:

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Puccini - La Rondine / Gheorghiu, Alagna, Matteuzzi, Mula, Rinaldi, LSO, Pappano

by: Alberto Rinaldi, Patrizia Ciofi

Release Date October 01, 1999
This is a must have set for lovers of opera but also Puccini fans who may not know this work very well. Have been lucky enough to see the Covent Garden and Opera North productions in recent years. It's a mystery to me why people are still so sniffy about it. On these discs as in the theatre Angela Gheorghiu is a magnificent Magda and on this occasion her husband rises to the challenge of singing with his wife. This along with Il Trittico is one of Pappano's greatest successes on disc, buy it and you won't be disappointed.

CD-Charts Position 6
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I Am Legend (2 Disc Special Edition) [2007]

starring: Will Smith, Dash Mihok, Willow Smith, Charlie Tahan, Salli Richardson
directed by: Francis Lawrence

Release Date April 21, 2008
So where do i begin?
First things first; the movie itself is something remarkable and shows one of will smith's greatest and probably best performance he's done. From my opinion, if it weren't for him the movie would of probably been a bit rubbish.
When i first saw the film; i must admit, i didn't think much of it but when i watched it again, i was completely blown away. The way they captured the loneliness and sadness of Robert Neville's life is just incredible. When buying the film, just don't expect much of a blockbuster because this is not. Look at the film as how it was supposed to be... ...a one man show.
Now your probably wondering why i only gave it four stars. This is simply because the DVD was a big huge let down for me and also ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 7
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Puccini: Tosca

from: Callas Edition

Release Date March 10, 1997
Sorry, this might upset some other reviewers and 'purists' but I have to say as good as this recording is, and it is, callas does give a good performance, but it doesn't light a candle to the 1962 Karajan recording on decca legends with Leontyne price as Tosca she is absolutely stunning in the role, I defy anyone not to be moved and have the hairs go up on the back of their neck when they listen to her vissi d'arte(my ultimate favourite opera aria), so do yourself a favour and get that cd now! You won't regret it.

CD-Charts Position 8
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Ravel/Rimsky-Korsakov: L'Heure espagñole

from: Deutsche Grammophon

Release Date November 30, 2001
Sorry, this might upset some other reviewers and 'purists' but I have to say as good as this recording is, and it is, callas does give a good performance, but it doesn't light a candle to the 1962 Karajan recording on decca legends with Leontyne price as Tosca she is absolutely stunning in the role, I defy anyone not to be moved and have the hairs go up on the back of their neck when they listen to her vissi d'arte(my ultimate favourite opera aria), so do yourself a favour and get that cd now! You won't regret it.

CD-Charts Position 9
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Mozart, W.A.: Don Giovanni

by: Sherrill Milnes Anna Tomowa-Sintow Peter Schreier Edith Mathis Wiener Philharmoniker Karl Böhm

Release Date November 13, 2006
This opera has really dark and deep feelings so I like the fact that Karl Bohm gives the orchestra a heavy sound. He makes the supper scene really horrifying. Don Giovanni is a bad man, but everyone likes him. Sherrill Milnes sings his roles with a charm in his voice. Anna Tomowa-Sintow has a golden voice and I like the way how she shows Donna Anna's grief. Teresa Zylis-Gara shows how Donna Elvira's heart has broken by the way Giovanni betrayed her. She expresses how much Elvira loves Giovanni. Peter Schreier has a beautiful voice and he sings Don Ottavio's roles, expressing Ottavio is a kind man. He acts as if Ottavio means he will avenge Giovanni. Walter Berry is a very fine Leporello. Edith Mathis has a elegant voice that depicts how much Zerlina loves Giovanni. ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 10
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Puccini: Il Tabarro

from: Preiser

Release Date April 10, 2000
This opera has really dark and deep feelings so I like the fact that Karl Bohm gives the orchestra a heavy sound. He makes the supper scene really horrifying. Don Giovanni is a bad man, but everyone likes him. Sherrill Milnes sings his roles with a charm in his voice. Anna Tomowa-Sintow has a golden voice and I like the way how she shows Donna Anna's grief. Teresa Zylis-Gara shows how Donna Elvira's heart has broken by the way Giovanni betrayed her. She expresses how much Elvira loves Giovanni. Peter Schreier has a beautiful voice and he sings Don Ottavio's roles, expressing Ottavio is a kind man. He acts as if Ottavio means he will avenge Giovanni. Walter Berry is a very fine Leporello. Edith Mathis has a elegant voice that depicts how much Zerlina loves Giovanni. ... Read More: